Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 1, the 213th day of 2018. There are 152 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 1, 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, went on an armed rampage at the University of Texas in Austin that killed 14 people, most of whom were shot by Whitman while he was perched in the clock tower of the main campus building. (Whitman, who had also slain his wife and mother hours earlier, was finally gunned down by police.)

On this date:

In 1714, Britain's Queen Anne died at age 49; she was succeeded by George I.

In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state.

In 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps established an aeronautical division, the forerunner of the U.S. Air Force.

In 1911, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to receive a U.S. pilot's certificate from the Aero Club of America. (Quimby's accomplishments included being the first woman to fly across the English Channel; she was killed in an accident in July 1912 at age 37.)

In 1936, the Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

In 1944, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation; the revolt lasted two months before collapsing.

In 1957, the United States and Canada announced they had agreed to create the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

In 1975, a 35-nation summit in Finland concluded with the signing of a declaration known as the Helsinki Accords dealing with European security, human rights and East-West contacts.

In 1981, the rock music video channel MTV made its debut.

In 1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley confirmed they'd been secretly married 11 weeks earlier. (Presley filed for divorce from Jackson in Jan. 1996, citing irreconcilable differences.)

In 2001, Pro Bowl tackle Korey Stringer, 27, died of heat stroke, a day after collapsing at the Minnesota Vikings' training camp on the hottest day of the year.

In 2007, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.

Ten years ago: Some 30 mountaineers began a disastrous attempt to scale K2 in Pakistan; 11 of them died in a series of accidents, including icefalls. Crowds of Chinese watched a total solar eclipse along the country's ancient Silk Road, one week before the start of the Summer Games in Beijing.

Five years ago: Defying the United States, Russia granted Edward Snowden temporary asylum, allowing the National Security Agency leaker to slip out of the Moscow airport where he had been holed up for weeks. President Barack Obama faced congressional critics of the National Security Agency's collection of Americans' telephone records as he and Vice President Joe Biden joined lawmakers on both sides of the issue for an Oval Office meeting.

One year ago: By a vote of 92-5, the Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's nomination of Christopher Wray as FBI director. He replaced James Comey, who was fired by Trump amid the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Ramblin' Jack Elliott is 87. Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., is 81. Actor Giancarlo Giannini is 76. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is 68. Blues singer-musician Robert Cray is 65. Singer Michael Penn is 60. Rock singer Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) is 59. Rock singer-musician Suzi Gardner (L7) is 58. Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy) is 58. Actor Jesse Borrego is 56. Actor Demian Bichir is 55. Rapper Coolio is 55. Actor John Carroll Lynch is 55. Rock singer Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) is 54. Movie director Sam Mendes is 53. Country singer George Ducas is 52. Country musician Charlie Kelley is 50. Actress Jennifer Gareis is 48. Actor Charles Malik Whitfield is 46. Actress Tempestt Bledsoe is 45. Actor Jason Momoa is 39. Actress Honeysuckle Weeks is 39. Singer Ashley Parker Angel is 37. Actress Taylor Fry is 37. Actor Elijah Kelley is 32. Actor James Francis Kelly is 29. Actress Ella Wahlestedt is 20.

Thought for Today: "The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him." -- Stanislaw J. Lec, Polish writer (1909-1966).